The subject application relates generally to headers for agricultural harvesters. In particular, the subject application relates to a cutterbar lockout tool, a header including such tool and a method for repositioning a cutterbar assembly using such tool.
Agricultural harvesters such as combine harvesters are well known apparatuses for harvesting grain crops. An agricultural harvester is typically a self-propelled vehicle which includes a feederhouse and mechanisms downstream of the feederhouse for separating grain from other crop material. A header is attached to the front of the harvester and includes mechanisms for cutting crop, gathering crop and delivering crop to the harvester's feederhouse. A typical crop cutter or cutterbar includes a stationary knife and a reciprocating knife which together act as shears that cut crop near the ground. After cutting, the crop is gathered, e.g., by a harvesting reel which feeds the cut crop to a conveyor system that transports the cut crop to the harvester's feederhouse.
Certain header constructions include skid plates or skid shoes that extend the width of the header which are operable to contact the ground surface as the combine travels over a field being harvested. The skid shoes are carried at the fore or distal ends of a plurality of independently movable and spaced apart flex or supporting arms and the crop cutter or cutterbar is carried at the leading edge of the skid shoes. The supporting arms are pivotably attached at their aft or proximal ends to the header chassis or frame and downward movement of the supporting arms in relation to the header chassis is limited by down-stop linkages. The down-stop linkages are typically pivotally connected at one end to the header chassis and slidably and/or pivotably connected at their opposite ends to the supporting arms. In such header designs, the down-stop linkages are employed to lock and unlock the supporting arms and thus the cutterbar at predetermined positions with respect to the header chassis. In the unlocked state, the supporting arms are able to pivot upwardly and downwardly as dictated by changes in ground contour experienced by the skid shoes. Consequently, the cutterbar floats near to the ground during harvesting which is beneficial when harvesting low-lying crops including but not limited to soybeans.
In such header designs including down-stop linkages, it is often desirable or necessary to secure or lock the supporting arms and the cutterbar in an upward stationary position with respect to the header chassis in order to effectively harvest standing crops including but not limited to wheat and barley. It is also common to lock the supporting arms with respect to the header chassis to prevent bouncing of the cutterbar during transport of the header between fields or portions of fields to be harvested. In operation, the locking and unlocking of the supporting arms can occur multiple times in a season if not multiple times a week or even more frequently.
Locking and unlocking of conventional header supporting arms is a time-consuming and laborious task. When locking the supporting arms, the combine operator or other worker must physically lift each of the supporting arms and secure the supporting arm to the header chassis by inserting a fastener such as a locking pin into cooperating apertures provided in the down-stop linkage and a corresponding header chassis member. Because of the interconnection of the supporting arms, the skid shoes and the cutterbar, lifting of one supporting arm will cause the adjacent arms to rise somewhat. Hence, the person lifting one supporting arm will also at least partially lift the supporting arms to the right and left of the supporting arm being lifted. Additionally, the accumulation of dirt and/or crop material can make the supporting arms more difficult to lift. As a result, the force required to lift a typical header supporting arm can be considerable and may be beyond the physical capabilities of ordinary persons. Accordingly, a worker who experiences difficulty with or is incapable of lifting a supporting arm and inserting the locking fastener may need to rely upon the assistance of another person.